Press Release from Nickelodeon
NEW YORK, April 28, 2009 -- Preschoolers will cheer on their favorite courageous classroom pets in all-new adventures as Nickelodeon launches season three of the Emmy award-winning animated series THE WONDER PETS!, with a week of brand-new episodes, Monday, May 18-Friday, May 22, at 10:30 a.m. (all times ET/PT). The premiere week will feature guest appearances by the late actress/singer Eartha Kitt as Cool Cat and acclaimed jazz singer Jon Hendricks as Hip Hippo. Closing the week on Friday, May 22, at 10:30 a.m. is a special heartfelt tribute to the Wonder Pets from various animals they've saved in the past, commemorating the milestone of 100 successful rescues.
The new season of THE WONDER PETS! will explore new cinematic genres such as film noir, monster movies and classic fairy tales. Other guest stars appearing this season include Lauren Bacall and Ben Vereen, who reprises his role of Sammy the Rat from season two. THE WONDER PETS!, produced by Little Airplane Productions, is currently the number one-ranked preschool program on commercial television in its timeslot.
The schedule for THE WONDER PETS! premiere week is:
-- Monday, May 18 (10:30 a.m.): "Save the Cool Cat and the Hip Hippo!" (guest stars Eartha Kitt as Cool Cat and Jon Hendricks as Hip Hippo) -- A Cool Cat and Hip Hippo are performing at a jazz club in Greenwich Village. The Cat wants to scat but the Hippo wants to bebop at the same time. It's up to the Wonder Pets to show these two jazzy animals how to take turns. "Tuck & Buck!" -- Tuck's older cousin Buck comes to the classroom for a visit. When Buck shows off his skateboarding and hang gliding skills Tuck starts to feel jealous of his cool, coordinated cousin. But when Buck gets trapped in one of the schoolhouse cubbies, Tuck's heart and ability to use teamwork save the day.
-- Tuesday, May 19 (10:30 a.m.): "Save the Mermaid!" -- The Wonder Pets fly into a clay diorama to help a young Mermaid who wants to become a pirate. The team tries to help her by teaching her pirate phrases. In the end, they convince the Mermaid to love herself the way she is. "Save the Pony Express!" -- The Wonder Pets must help a young Pony in the Old West make her first delivery as part of the famous Pony Express. The Pony's mailbag is too heavy for her to carry by herself so the team shares the load.
-- Wednesday, May 20 (10:30 a.m.): "Save the Honey Bears!" -- The Wonder Pets journey to Happyland Forest to help Teddy and Betty, two cartoon bears that are arguing over a pot of honey. The team must convince the two bears that there is more than enough honey for everyone. "Save the Stinkbug!" -- The Wonder Pets get a call from a smelly little Stinkbug who has no interest in taking a bath. The team must show the baby Stinkbug the joys of bathing.
-- Thursday, May 21 (10:30 a.m.): "The Amazing Ollie!" -- Ollie the Bunny tells the Wonder Pets that a magician put him in a hat and made him disappear. Ming-Ming is skeptical but when Ollie hops into the hat, he really does disappear! The Wonder Pets must rescue Ollie once again. "Help the Monster!" -- The Wonder Pets get a call from an unhappy baby Monster who is throwing a tantrum and knocking over buildings in her toy city. The team helps the Monster calm down and work together to help her rebuild the city.
-- Friday, May 22 (10:30 a.m.): "A Job Well Done!" -- To celebrate their 100th save, Linny presents Ming-Ming and Tuck with a special home movie. However, the movie is interrupted when the Wonder Pets find a Baby Mouse stuck in the projector. They free the Mouse and make their 101st save! "Save The Rhino!" -- The Wonder Pets journey to Tanzania to help a shy baby Rhino find a friend. They encourage the Rhino to befriend a baby Elephant and soon the new friends are playing together happily.
Nick Jr. will roll out content from THE WONDER PETS! season three premiere week across the following platforms:
-- Nick Jr. Video, Nick Jr.'s broadband video service available on Nickjr.com, will offer clips and instant replays of all premiere week episodes.-- Clips from the premiere week episodes will be available on various wireless carriers.-- Throughout May, various THE WONDER PETS! episodes will be available via Nickelodeon on Demand.-- All premiere week episodes will be simulcast on Nickelodeon Mobile.
THE WONDER PETS! chronicles the adventures of three funny, singing classroom pets: Linny the Guinea Pig (Sofie Zamchick), Ming-Ming Duckling (Danica Lee) and Turtle Tuck (Teala Dunn), who travel the world and use teamwork to save animals in distress. Like real preschoolers, THE WONDER PETS! have no actual super powers, but they work together as a team to overcome adversity and achieve great success. The show's curricular goals are based on developing appreciation and orientation towards teamwork and creative problem solving.
Emmy award-winning THE WONDER PETS!, from creator/executive producer Josh Selig of Little Airplane Productions, Inc., is TV's first mini-operetta for preschoolers and the first preschool series to feature an extensive lineup of Tony award-winning and nominated Broadway composers. Grammy Award-winning producer and recording engineer Jeffrey Lesser serves as music producer/music supervisor for the series. All of the music on THE WONDER PETS! is recorded with a live orchestra and much of the dialogue is sung in operetta style. The acclaimed series received a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction & Composition in 2008 and an accolade for Best Soundtrack at the Pulcinella Awards at the Cartoons on the Bay festival this year.
Founded by Josh Selig in 1999, Little Airplane Productions created and produced THE WONDER PETS! for Nickelodeon, GO, BABY! for Playhouse Disney, OOBI! for NOGGIN (winner of a 2001 Gold Parents' Choice Award) and 3RD & BIRD! for the BBC's CBeebies. Additionally, Josh Selig was the Head Writer for LITTLE BILL on NOGGIN. He has received ten Emmy Awards for his writing on SESAME STREET and was the Resident Producer of the historic Israeli/Palestinian SESAME STREET co-production (winner of the 1998 Japan Prize). Josh Selig also writes a weekly blog for Kidscreen Magazine called "Planet Preschool" which can be read at www.kidscreen.com. For more information about Little Airplane Productions please visit www.littleairplane.com.
